Living with a powered wheelchair: exploring children’s and young people’s experiences

Abstract

Purpose: The study aimed to explore the lived experiences of children and young people who use an Electric Powered Indoor/Outdoor wheelchair (EPIOC). Method: To allow for the individual lived experiences of the children to be explored, an exploratory study was designed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Nine children aged 7–16 years were recruited and their views explored through semi-structured interviews. Results: Children appeared to be working to achieve an adequate fit between self, the EPIOC and the environment. Where an adequate fit was achieved the child experienced positive consequences of using an EPIOC including increased participation and positive feelings. However an inadequate fit led to negative experiences including reduced participation, fear and anxiety. The changing interface between self, EPIOC and environment appeared to be important in shaping these experiences. Conclusions: This study adds to understanding the ambiguous experience of being a child EPIOC user and the need for ongoing support from services especially around stages of transition. It also contributes to the development of the social model of disability from a child’s perspective.

Implications for Rehabilitation

• Children who use Electric Powered Indoor/Outdoor Chairs have both positive and negative experiences which are dependent on the fit of the child, chair and the environment.

• Child EPIOC users are active agents in shaping their experiences.

• Children who use an EPIOC maybe particularly at risk of reduced participation, especially at times when their environment changes significantly such as when leaving school or college.

Keywords:

• Children
• disability
• participation
• qualitative
• wheelchair
• young people

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the children for sharing their experiences. Thanks also to the children’s families and to the therapists and administrators who helped with recruitment.

Declaration of interest

The study was completed as part of the fulfilment of the dissertation requirements for the first author’s degree of Master of Research, the University of Manchester funded by the National Institute of Health Research. The authors report no conflicts of interests. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of this article.